Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch to a Newer Version

A vSphere distributed switch version 4.0 or newer can be upgraded to a later version, enabling the distributed switch to take advantage of features that are only available in the later version.

Prerequisites

Open a vSphere Client connection to a vCenter Server.

Verify that you have sufficient permissions to edit a distributed switch.

Procedure

Log in to the vSphere Client and select the Networking inventory view.

Select the vSphere distributed switch in the inventory pane.

On the Summary tab, next to Version, select Upgrade.

The upgrade wizard details the features available to the upgraded distributed switch that are not available to the earlier version.

Select the vSphere Distribued Switch version to upgrade to.

Option

Description

vSphere Distributed Switch Version: 4.1.0

Compatible with ESX/ESXi version 4.1 and later. Features released with later vSphere distributed switch versions are not supported.

vSphere Distributed Switch Version: 5.0.0

Compatible with ESXi version 5.0 and later. Features released with later vSphere distributed switch versions are not supported.

vSphere Distributed Switch Version: 5.1.0

Compatible with ESXi version 5.1 and later. Features released with later vSphere distributed switch versions are not supported.

vSphere Distributed Switch Version: 5.5.0

Compatible with ESXi version 5.5 and later. Features released with later vSphere distributed switch versions are not supported.

vSphere Distributed Switch Version: 6.0.0

Compatible with ESXi version 6.0 and later.

Click Next.

The upgrade wizard lists the hosts associated with this vSphere distributed switch and whether or not they are compatible with the upgraded vSphere distributed switch version. You can proceed with the upgrade only if all hosts are compatible with the new vSphere distributed switch version.

Next to each incompatible host is the reason for the incompatibility.

Click Next.

Verify that the upgrade information listed is correct and click Finish.